Two traits I’ve noticed about Highlanders are that they look out for each other, and they know everything about each other. The first is a consequence of remoteness – so far away from “civilization,” people have drawn together and helped each other out for generations. The second thing can go either way – there are certainly no secrets in Highland villages! But a few years ago both of these Highland ways came together for my husband and I with touching results.
Sem had gone to the hospital for what was supposed to be a simple surgery requiring only an overnight stay. We were still inseparable at the time (well… we still are!), so I went with him, staying at a motel nearby. It was kind of a dive but when the proprietors discovered I was staying there due to Sem’s hospital stay, they knocked down the price of the room a little, and when Sem’s “overnight” stay turned into a two-week ordeal my new friends extended my stay daily, and asked after Sem’s welfare each morning.
My friend Peggy who was cat-sitting for us gladly agreed to continue visiting Smartie, our cantankerous calico, for however long we needed. I came home once during those two weeks for a 12 hour marathon of business catch-up, laundry, packing, updating friends and family, mail-sorting, and comforting the anxious cat. To my dismay there was a “sorry we missed you” card from one of the local couriers. Oh, no! A package needing a delivery signature arrived while we were away. I had no idea when I’d be able to arrange re-delivery since I was headed back down to the hospital on the early train. I was frozen to the spot for a moment by all that was happening, but then I noticed a package farther down the pile with a note attached in Peggy’s handwriting: “No need to phone them – Alec delivered this to me when he found out I was cat-sitting!”
Ever-cheerful, always helpful, Alec was (and is) one of my favorite people. He’d tried to deliver the package a few times and, knowing that normally we’re almost always home, he became concerned and asked around. The infamous ‘Highland Hotline’ had ensured by then that lots of people knew we were away at the hospital, indefinitely. Having seen Smartie in the window, Alec sleuthed around some more and that’s how he ended up at Peggy’s, asking her to sign for the package rather than returning it to the sender. Just like that, a tricky logistical problem was already solved for me – all because of that Highland helpfulness – and folks knowing where we were, though I’d only told a couple of people!
One evening shortly after we came home I heard something at the front door. The living room light was slightly dimmed while Sem dozed, and at around 8:30pm all was hushed outside as well – it’s a quiet village, most nights. But I’d heard a soft bump, a muffled step and our front door – notoriously squeaky and loud – gently being eased shut. It was Alec, delivering a cumbersome package, as quiet as the mist. He’d seen the dimmed lights and knew Sem was still recuperating, so he’d silently brought in the large box and disappeared into the night before I could even get to the door. Months later down in the village I thanked him for his kindness. “Och well,” he said, ducking his head modestly. “It’s my job.” But it was much more than that!
It’s simply the way, here, to look out for each other. Our best friend who is disabled got a scolding once from a neighbor because he hadn’t replaced his upstairs curtains yet, after washing them. “I always look at your upstairs windows to see if the curtains are open so that I know that you’re up and okay,” she said. “So get those curtains hung up, or I’ll worry!” I’ve also often seen shop workers carefully counting out correct change from money thrust into their hands by seniors who have begun to slide into confusion. As for me, if I don’t get down to the village for a few days, the next time I go down I’m bound to be asked about it. “Haven’t seen you around,” someone will say. “How are things with you and Himself, then?”
Don’t get me wrong – my wee village is not always an idyll of peace, harmony, and the milk of human kindness! Sometimes the fact that everyone knows each other’s business can be tiresome. But whether it’s our very good ‘first responders’ who appear when someone is in distress, staying until paramedics arrive (which can take up to an hour), or simply someone who takes an elderly neighbor shopping, there are a lot of good people, here in the Highlands.
Warms the heart a bit, that does!
Deb Segelitz was born and raised in Pennsylvania, and is astounded to find herself living in the Scottish Highlands. Equally surprising to her is that she now has a small business restoring and selling old fountain pens. These two facts have convinced Deb that life is either beautifully random, or filled with destiny created by someone with a sense of humor. She hopes the fine north state residents will accept her as an honorary member, since she has some cousins in California who she visited once, but even more importantly because the north state folks she actually knows are fabulous people, who are also the reason for her presence here on anewscafe.com. An enthusiastic amateur photographer, Deb is grateful that she lives in a place that’s about as point-and-shoot as it gets. Her tortoiseshell cat, Smartie, rates her as an average minion, too slow with the door-opening but not too bad on the food-dish-refilling, and her husband hasn’t had her deported back to the States yet, so things must be going all right there, as well.
